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MUMBAI:
eMusic has announced the arrival of worlds' first audiobooks
format. It will provide more than a thousand downloadable
audiobook titles in the universally compatible MP3 format
without any restrictions.
The
digital audiobooks market is currently the fast-growing
segment of the book publishing industry. According to
Piper Jaffray & Co., the worldwide market for digital
audiobooks and other spoken word is expected to grow
45% in revenue from $138.6 million in 2006 to $274.4
million in 2008. Nearly 49 percent of eMusic subscribers
have also expressed their interest in audiobooks.
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"With
the launch of eMusic audiobooks, our company is now
a multi-product digital entertainment retailer. As we
expand our offerings, we will continue our focus on
customers over the age of 25, and continue to offer
them an inexpensive, low-risk way to explore great entertainment
they wouldn't find otherwise," says eMusic President
and CEO David Pakman.
"We
expect that our sales will help to dramatically accelerate
the audiobooks market. For the first time, thousands
of audiobooks from major publishers will be sold in
the universally compatible MP3 format, delivering far
more convenience and flexibility to the consumer than
ever before. Finally, consumers can listen to their
audiobooks on any device they like."
eMusic
will offer major audiobooks publishers including Blackstone
Audio, Hachette, Naxos Audiobooks, Penguin and Random
House, with hundreds more to be added each week. The
catalogue comprises fiction and non-fiction classics,
bestsellers and new releases, including notable books
narrated by well-known voices such as: Michael Ondaatje's
The English Patient, read by Ralph Fiennes; Shakespeare's
Hamlet, read by Sir John Gielgud; Nicola Kraus' The
Nanny Diaries, to name a few.
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